Due to the strike launched by the action committee of 11 trade unions starting midnight, the bus services of the state-run corporation were completely stopped at 35 out of the MSRTC`s 250 bus depots across the state, a spokesperson of the corporation said

The Maharashtra State Transport (ST) Kamgar Sanyukta Kruti Samiti (joint action committee) began this strike over salary-related issues of employees, after talks with the state government failed last month

The action committee is demanding a salary for the staffers on par with that of the state government employees

The MSRTC spokesperson on Tuesday said that the bus services in the Mumbai division were not affected, but were partially hit in neighbouring Thane division

The employees of the MSRTC, which operates one of India’s largest bus fleets, called a strike to press for their pending demands

The action followed an agitation led by the action committee of 11 labour unions

As of 8 am on September 3, out of the 251 bus depots, 35 were completely closed, while the remaining depots are either partially or fully operational

Meanwhile, later in the day, an industrial court in Mumbai has declared the ongoing strike by MSRTC workers illegal and asked all employees to return to their duties as soon as possible

The court has also asked the state government to take steps to resolve the dispute